Kayla's Impulse Purchase of a Ticket to LA

I remember the conversation clearly… I rediscovered the amazingly FUN once-a-month dance party called Bootie LA in October, and the next day I called Kayla to tell her about it. 

Me: blah blah blah it’s such a blast! They play the best music. You would absolutely love it… blah blah blah.

Kayla: Awesome! So, it’s the first Saturday of every month?

Me: Yes, the first Saturday.

(brief pause)

Kayla: I just bought a ticket.  I’m coming with you in December.

Haha… it was the best spontaneous impulse purchase ever. So, she came and we had a gloriously fun time.  We packed a lot into the >48 hours she was here including meals at several of my fave restaurants, drinks at my new fave bar (Harvard & Stone), a photo shoot (so random, I know. Ha. My friend told me about a fundraiser this artist’s group was doing to raise money for their warehouse/workspace downtown: $30 for a 30 minute photo shoot. I thought that sounded like a worthy cause and a fun activity, so we did it!  While we were surrounded by actors getting new headshots, we had a blast taking super cheesy ‘best friends for life’ shots), watching (one half of) the OU game, and of course: BOOTIE LA. 

I realize this post is a month overdue, but Kayla’s homemade video scrapbook, below, is way cooler than anything I know how to do, so I figured it was worth the wait.

Sparkly LA! from Kayla Krittenbrink on Vimeo.

As you can see, we had such a blast! So much so, that Kayla just bought another ticket and will be here in a few weeks for Bootie LA the first weekend of February.  Holla! Now...who wants to come with us?? ;-) 

xoxo, 

Annie.

8:11 December Highlights

On January 1 2010, I resolved to take a picture of what I was doing at 8:11 PM every single day for the whole year. I wasn’t sure what it would be like. Would I keep it up, or would I fall off the wagon (as is the case with virtually every other new year’s resolution I’ve ever made)? Would the photos be interesting or would they be completely monotonous?

Well, 2 years later, the photos might be uninteresting to others, but I find that making myself take this daily photo was an amazing way to keep track of experiences throughout the year. I love it.  (I haven’t missed a day yet!). Who knows how long I’ll actually keep this up, but I don’t foresee 8:11 pics going away any time soon. 

That said, here are my favorite 8:11 shots from December (sidenote: I finally got an iPhone last month, so you will notice that the photo quality has improved dramatically…thank goodness!). 

8:11-my darling Kayla is visitng! This weekend is going to be so. much. funnnn. :-)

8:11-pre-partying for the Bootie LA christmas party with Kayla and Mike. :-)

8:11-din at the Alcove and frozen yogurt w/ my friend from summer camp from age 13 (literally) who's in town! 

 8:11- rocking around the proverbial Christmas tree with @garrettfbaker at party 1 of 3 tonight. 

 

8:11-at Disneyland for the Disney Christmas party w/ Beier. Tower of Terror is my faaaave. :-)

8:11-at one (of several) of the Warner Bros Christmas parties w/ @katiehutchings. I won a raffle prize!!

 

8:11-my favorite comedy show w/ some of my favorite friends. We love UCB. :-)

 

8:11-another Warner Bros. Christmas party w/ @katiehutchings. WB keeping it classy with Santa and his little helpers.

8:11-dinner at Akasha with one of my very favorite people in the world: Katie Gibbs. :-)

 

8:11-celebrating the birthday of the wonderful @ellen_godfrey with @garrettfbaker and @godfreytweets.

 

8:11-a delish homemade meal with 2 of my favorite people, @bhasemeyer and @kierstenlyons, is like chicken soup for the soul. :-)

 

 8:11-Merry Christmas Eve from 3 year old me.

 8:11-my grandma is one of favorite people in the whole world. <3

8:11-my other grandparents are two of my favorite people in the world too. Love them both so much!

8:11-back in Houston. Sad to say goodbye to my sweet relatives but happy to say hello to sweet Sid.

 8:11-eating a ridiculous amount of chicken wings at a sports bar w/ my brother. It seemed like a very "Texas" thing to do. ;-)

Wow... more highlights from that month than ever before! A perfect grand finale to a great year. Excited to see what fun things I'll be doing at 8:11 in 2012. 

xoxo, 

Annie.

 

2011, I Give You Two Thumbs up

Allow me to echo Mary... Happy New Year (and happy 2 year anniversary to A Tale of Two Cities)! I'm writing this post from 30,000 feet in the air as I return from a wonderful visit with my family for the holidays. I absolutely love Christmas because it's (usually) the one time a year I get to see all my relatives I love so dearly. It's also one of the very few times  a year I get to spend quality time with my immediate fam (and sweet kitties). I'm returning to LA feeling very loved and rested and blessed.  Such a great way to end a year and start another.

Before diving full force into 2012, I wanted to pay homage to 2011 as well.  I'll be posting my 8:11 highlights from December soon, but I'll mirror Mary's lovely reflection on 2011 now.  :-) 

Highs: Traveling! I'm not quite sure how this happened, but somehow I took at least one trip every month from May to December this year (highlights include Alabama tornado relief trip, Caroline's cuh-razy bachelorette party in Vegas, Outside Lands in SF w/ Mary, a "girls weekend" trip to Santa Fe with Mary and our mothers, and Colorado x 2 - once for family vacay and once for a reunion with my best college friends.)

Lows:  My break up in May, while a good thing, was extremely sad and took a few months to get over. Definitely a low I hope to not experience again ANY time soon.

Mistakes: Not going to the beach more last summer. One of my lifelong dreams growing up was to live “driving distance to a good beach.” Now I do, and I do not take nearly enough advantage of it.  Tsk tsk.

#Winnings: Discovering the amazing fun that is Bootie LA (and making it a monthly occurrence on my calendar). ;-)

Observations and things I learned: I learned a lot from the aforementioned break up, such as: it gets better. I also learned a ton on my trip to Alabama, namely that my “problems” are miniscule compared to those who have lost so much.  It really helped put things in perspective and made me want to help those in need as much as I can.

Other events of note: seeing Mary on 7 different occasions (holla!), being pictured and quoted in the New York Post for my Bachelor watch parties, going on my first work trip, rediscovering reading for enjoyment, my dad being in LA for the first time since 2008, being a leader to one of the best community groups ever, watching my dear brother graduate from OU, and becoming the proud owner of a blue fish. J

I like to make a list of goals for myself on my birthday each year, so as far as resolutions go, I’m going to keep plugging away at that list. But I agree with Mary, there really is something about the dawn of a new year that just feels so fresh and promising. So while I look back and smile at all the great experiences I had in 2011, I dive into 2012 with both feet, excited and expectant of all the great things in store. Cheers to that. 

xoxo, 

Annie.